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Kirk Cousins

Minnesota Vikings

These 3 QBs are throwing a lot of passes through 4 games.

Kirk Cousin's has the most looks of any QB through 4 games... 201 with 189 passing attempts and 12 rushing attempts. Big Ben second with 196 looks on 186 tosses and 10 rushing attempts and Andrew Luck sits 3rd with 195 looks on the season.

To give you a sense of usage, Russell Wilson only has 121 throws on the season and 11 rushes. Dak Prescott only has 115 passing attempts. These 2 guys are not being given a chance to score fantasy points for their owners.

Tom Brady is trying to become the 3rd NFL player ever to record 500 TDs, and needs 3 TDs tonight to get there. The Handsome Goat has thrown touchdown passes to an NFL record 70 different receivers over the course of his career. Are Josh Gordon or Sony Michel going to be the 71st tonight on Thursday Night Football?

Julian Edelman returns from his 4 game suspension, which is a great thing for Brady, seeing that Gronk has been banged up and Tom currently sits at QB19 on the season without his favorite target. Hogan has been a dud with Julian out racking up only 1 look last week and a laughable 15 total looks on the season.

The New England Backfield finally has some clarity for the first time in recent memory. With Rex Burkhead and Jeremy Hill on the IR, it leaves defined roles for both Sony Michel as the early down workhorse and James White as the third down back as well as in the passing game.

Sony Michel has gotten double digit carries each of his three games, with 25 attempts in week 4, while James White has gotten double digit looks each of his four starts. These two backs are every week fantasy plays until further notice, especially in PPR formats.

Both Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor showed in week 4 that they are capable of capitalizing on the opportunity given from the vacant targets of Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker. With Mariota seemingly healthy, maybe this receiving corps can live up to the offseason hype.

Taywan Taylor is worth an add, and Corey Davis now seems to be a must start in week 5 against the Bills.

This holdout has the potential to hurt Bell’s financial situation in terms of negotiation power in the market. If James Conner comes out of the gates and lights it up in Bell’s absence, maybe GMs around the league will start to raise an eyebrow in regard to Bell’s value. If he holds out until week 10, he’s going to miss out on millions, and potentially shave a few million per year off his viable asking price in free agency. I’m not trying to say that Bell isn’t elite, but here are a few tidbits towards the argument that maybe Bell isn’t worth Gurley money:

- PFF has the Steelers Offensive Line ranked #3 in the NFL
- Antonio Brown and company in the WR corps open up a ton of space for Bell in the run game and in the short dump off receptions.
- DeAngelo Williams, at the time a 32 year old who was cut from the Panthers behind Jonathan Stewart was a top 5 fantasy RB in the Steelers system during Bell’s absence.
- James Saxon – Steelers RB coach. Joined the team in 2014 (the year of Bell’s breakout season). In 2013 Bell was average at best. Granted he was a rookie, but the change was night and day between 2013 and 2014. Maybe there was more coaching influence on this improvement than people are giving credit for?
- Bell has a history of off field incidents leading to suspension
- Bell will be 27 years old at the start of the 2019 season – a contract he’d be willing to accept will be paying him elite figures into his 30s at the most dangerous position in football.
- The guy is willing to shade his own team

In the case that Conner DOES come out hot and Steeler game flow is exactly the same other than the number on the back of their RB’s jersey – why not trade him and milk all the value you can get out of the guy?

If I’m the Texans, 49ers or even Colts, maybe rather than dish out $70+ for Bell, I pursue James Saxon RB Coach, and some of the Steelers RB scouts and make my own homemade Bell through the draft essentially for free. Again, Bell is a stud and no one can deny that – but maybe his environment helps him look the part a little more than general perception?

Jerick McKinnon will miss the rest of the season with a right ACL tear. McKinnon suffered the injury while making a cut on the final play of Saturday's practice. It's a tough blow for the Niners, who went all-in on McKinnon by signing him to a four-year, $30 million free agent deal this offseason.

Look for newly acquired Alfred Morris to take over the early down work to start the season. Morris had success in Shanahan’s offense while in Washington and he appears to be the only back on the roster in full health. Breida will be coming back from his shoulder injury within the next few days having been cleared to practice moments before the McKinnon injury. Brieda will probably garner close to a 50/50 split as the season gets into full swing, both backs need to be owned in fantasy.

The RB’s release means Jeremy Hill has likely won a 53-man roster spot. Gillislee had a three-touchdown Week 1 in 2017, but then did close to nothing the rest of the year spending most of the second half as a healthy scratch. Hill becomes a valuable waiver add if Burkhead (knee) and Michelle (knee) continue to play at less than 100%. We could see Hill take over the goaline role that we saw Blount excel in in 2016 on his way to a top-10 RB finish.

This is obviously a bump for Chicago’s defense, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bump for their DST in fantasy. Most likely the Bears will turn out more 3-and-out’s which will keep them off the field. What it certainly does is give a boost to RB Jordan Howard. It will give the offense more opportunity and keep scoring lower, causing the offense to grind out the clock late in games. Howard will be the main beneficiary of the grind-it-out games script.

The Bills are releasing former first-round pick WR Corey Coleman, who the acquired from the Browns. A few weeks just not enough time to grab a roster spot. He’s looking for another fresh start.

The Bills acquired Coleman during the first week of August for a seventh-round pick. He was basically unnoticeable during the preseason, catching just one ball for seven yards. Coleman is still only 24, so it's much too early to label him a bust, but he's certainly failed to live up to his first-round pedigree since being drafted by Cleveland. Being let go by Cleveland and Buffalo in the same month is the definition of hitting rock-bottom.

The Eagles offense is incredibly beat up going into the start of the season. Wentz is yet to be cleared for contact and in my opinion seems doubtful for Week 1. The Superbowl MVP Nick Foles didn't quite look the part in the Preseason game against the Browns, throwing two interceptions, losing a fumble, and getting sacked for a safety.

Alshon Jeffrey is confirmed to miss the first two games of the season, and Jay Ajayi has been out of practice the past 9 days with a lower body injury.

I have a hard time foreseeing the Eagles offense getting anything going against the Falcons top 10 defense, which leads me to believe that Matt Ryan is going to have the ball in his hands the majority of the game. I could see this being a sneaky blow out for the Falcons with the backfield being the main beneficiaries. Look for Freeman and Coleman to see a major workload in Week 1.

An encouraging showing tonight for Bengals fans, as the first team passing attack got it done against the Bills. Dalton looked hot connecting with each of his starting weapons, with a touchdown to AJ Green and an electric 57 yard score by John Ross.

Tyler Boyd, someone who d-Rx has been high on going into this year, showed great rapport with Dalton, having 4 receptions on 4 targets for 54 yards, and looks fully solidified in the slot role. He's currently going undrafted and could be someone to add to your watch list.

This looks like a new and improved Bengals offense. Dalton is currently going undrafted in 1 QB leagues, and could easily return value in favourable match-ups this season.

Adrian Peterson took part in his first practice since signing with Washington on Tuesday and head coach Jay Gruden said after the session that the veteran running back is in “fantastic physical shape.”
Gruden said that the team was able to pick that up during his Monday workout because Peterson “wasn’t even breathing heavy” when the workout came to an end. Gruden said that Peterson did a “great job” in Tuesday’s workout and described the running back that people remember from his best days with the Vikings. “Looks explosive. Big, strong and fast,” Gruden said at his press conference.
Gruden said that he would like to give Peterson some work during Friday’s game against the Broncos “if we get him up to speed” and predicted that Peterson’s experience would help him do exactly that.

I didn’t think much of this on Tuesday when I heard the news, but the door is open for Peterson to disrupt any value Perine has as a lead back in Washington. Thompson will see the passing down work and should only see a reduction in workload due to his own recovery time-table from the leg injury he suffered last season. Perine looked very good in the first preseason game after Guice went down with a season-ending injury, and looked great on his one 30-yard carry in the second game, but suffered an ankle sprain himself. After averaging only 3.45 yards per carry last season, Perine hasn’t earned himself any seniority to hold a role. In fact, before the Guice injury, Perine was thought to be on the roster bubble. This is a backfield to watch this weekend.
Thompsons current ADP is in the sixth round, which is too early for me. If you want to take a last round flyer on either Perine or Peterson they could be worth the price of a lottery ticket.

The Titans rewarded receiver Rishard Matthews with a one-year contract extension on Tuesday, and after practice coach Mike Vrabel discussed the move, and his potential return to the field.
Matthews has been on the team’s PUP list since the beginning of training camp.
“We feel good about his work, and where he’s at,” Vrabel said of Matthews. “And obviously he’s put a lot of time in to try and get himself ready for the season. So hopefully we can see him back shortly, when he’s ready.”

Matthews was the WR 19 in PPR scoring in 2016, but with Mariota recovering from injury, and an overall anemic Tennessee offense, Matthews finished 2017 as WR 37 in PPR. Matthews was being drafted in the eleventh round before camps started and is now dropping to the fifteenth round. Taywan Taylor has been active in camp and has seen a huge surge in ADP from the twentieth round to the fourteenth. I was really liking Taylor as an ultimate sleeper, but with Matthews return we will probably seethe ball being spread around the offense more. There has also been a rumor that Matthews “undisclosed” injury was actually just a hold-out, funny how he seems to be in good health after the extension.

Cooper Kupp was 4th in the NFL last year in red-zone targets. Kupp and Goff have the most chemistry of all the receivers on the team as Goff targeted him more than anyone last year. Everyone is expecting Cooks to lead these receivers in points this year, but Kupp will be the receiver to own. Sammy Watkins had eight red-zone touchdowns last year. Cooks is not a red-zone target receiver, so Kupp should see more targets and could sneak into the WR2 with massive upside.

Mckinnon has been a super divisive player this offseason. Especially after the first preseason game where he didn't amass many yards and the following day he injured himself in practice. I constantly hear people question his ability to carry the ball 200+ times or that he can’t run between the tackles, or he’s unproven in a lead role. This is all NONSENSE and you shouldn’t believe any of it. Shanahan had his pick of players that he could’ve signed instead of Mckinnon, including Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, or drafting a rookie. He chose Mckinnon cause he felt he fit his offensive system in the same way that Devante Freeman fit his scheme. The 49ers just signed Alfred Morris today as a safety net, but I’m taking all the Mckinnon I can this year. I see him carrying the ball 205car/950yds/6td while also amassing 60rec/500yds/5td making him an RB1 this year. Don't be scared, and steal him away from people that are.

Marquiae goodwin has been targeted like a number one in camp. With Pierre Garcon likely squaring off with one of the toughest schedules against number one DBs, Goodwin could break out even more than he did last year. I wouldn't put it past him to put up T.Y HIlton numbers this year. Pick him up in the 6th and 7th round and pile up the points.

In 2016 Ajayi racked up 1272 yards on 260 carries and 8 TD’s and finished as the RB11 in both standard and PPR scoring. Last year Miami ran him out of town when he struggled in an anemic offense. He was not heavily used when he got to Philly, but his touches did increase every week until the Superbowl. He was also hyper efficient gaining 5.8 yards per carry and 9.1 yards per reception. Despite the general perception Clements usage went down with Ajayi’s arrival, even with Smallwood going down with injury. The Eagles have the number 1 offensive line as graded by PFF, and 18 RB targets and 192 carries vacated. Ajayi is a safe pick in the fourth round and a steal in the fifth.

He is coming off a season that produced only 57 receptions for 520 yards, his fewest since his rookie season. With that said, Graham remains a big-time weapon in the red zone. He led the league last year with 27 targets in the region, which led to 10 touchdowns. You can bet Rodgers and play-caller Mike McCarthy will be utilizing his skills early and often when knocking on the door of the end zone.
Look for McCarthy to use a variety of personnel groupings with his new tight end group and expect to see Graham split out wide as a receiver much more than as a traditional in-line tight end.

This goes right along with what I was saying on Pyro podcast 308. I expect Graham to be used as a wide receiver and not a tight end. When Graham was negotiating his contract in his last season in New Orleans he wanted to be paid on scale with wide receivers because he rarely lined-up as an in-line tight end. When Seattle paid him, he did whatever they asked, and they asked him to block more. He was out for five games that year, but averaged one less reception per game and only scored two TD’s, after having at least nine TD’s in the previous four years. Overall Graham saw about 25% fewer targets while in Seattle compared to New Orleans and his fantasy numbers reflect it. I see Green Bay using him more like he was used in New Orleans, and even though he has obviously lost a step or two I see him as the major replacement for the Jordy Nelson targets.

Jones’ 5.55 YPC on first- and second-down carries trailed only Alvin Kamara (6.24) for best in the league last year. Jamaal Williams averaged 3.80 YPC on first- and second-down in 2017.

He’s slid two rounds since the announcement of his two game suspension, he is a screaming value if you can get him in the ninth round. We already knew he was going to be competing in a crowded backfield so missing two games really shouldn’t be a big hit to his overall production. The likelihood of either of the other two backs taking over the role is slim, Jones should be able to carve out 10 touches a game when he gets back with fresh legs. They are all high risk for injuries so I’m hoping this added rest will help Jones in the long run.

In 2017, Nelson Agholor had 62 recs, 768 yds, 9 TDs and 7 games of WR2 or better. There is no reason he wouldn't maintain this output, even with additions in the offense. Agholor had to carve out a role for himself and beat out incumbent Jordan Matthews. This year he'll be the main slot receiver and have an established role from the start.

Kirk Cousin's has the most looks of any QB through 4 games... 201 with 189 passing attempts and 12 rushing attempts. Big Ben second with 196 looks on 186 tosses and 10 rushing attempts and Andrew Luck sits 3rd with 195 looks on the season.

To give you a sense of usage, Russell Wilson only has 121 throws on the season and 11 rushes. Dak Prescott only has 115 passing attempts. These 2 guys are not being given a chance to score fantasy points for their owners.

Tom Brady is trying to become the 3rd NFL player ever to record 500 TDs, and needs 3 TDs tonight to get there. The Handsome Goat has thrown touchdown passes to an NFL record 70 different receivers over the course of his career. Are Josh Gordon or Sony Michel going to be the 71st tonight on Thursday Night Football?

Julian Edelman returns from his 4 game suspension, which is a great thing for Brady, seeing that Gronk has been banged up and Tom currently sits at QB19 on the season without his favorite target. Hogan has been a dud with Julian out racking up only 1 look last week and a laughable 15 total looks on the season.

The New England Backfield finally has some clarity for the first time in recent memory. With Rex Burkhead and Jeremy Hill on the IR, it leaves defined roles for both Sony Michel as the early down workhorse and James White as the third down back as well as in the passing game.

Sony Michel has gotten double digit carries each of his three games, with 25 attempts in week 4, while James White has gotten double digit looks each of his four starts. These two backs are every week fantasy plays until further notice, especially in PPR formats.

Both Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor showed in week 4 that they are capable of capitalizing on the opportunity given from the vacant targets of Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker. With Mariota seemingly healthy, maybe this receiving corps can live up to the offseason hype.

Taywan Taylor is worth an add, and Corey Davis now seems to be a must start in week 5 against the Bills.

This holdout has the potential to hurt Bell’s financial situation in terms of negotiation power in the market. If James Conner comes out of the gates and lights it up in Bell’s absence, maybe GMs around the league will start to raise an eyebrow in regard to Bell’s value. If he holds out until week 10, he’s going to miss out on millions, and potentially shave a few million per year off his viable asking price in free agency. I’m not trying to say that Bell isn’t elite, but here are a few tidbits towards the argument that maybe Bell isn’t worth Gurley money:

- PFF has the Steelers Offensive Line ranked #3 in the NFL
- Antonio Brown and company in the WR corps open up a ton of space for Bell in the run game and in the short dump off receptions.
- DeAngelo Williams, at the time a 32 year old who was cut from the Panthers behind Jonathan Stewart was a top 5 fantasy RB in the Steelers system during Bell’s absence.
- James Saxon – Steelers RB coach. Joined the team in 2014 (the year of Bell’s breakout season). In 2013 Bell was average at best. Granted he was a rookie, but the change was night and day between 2013 and 2014. Maybe there was more coaching influence on this improvement than people are giving credit for?
- Bell has a history of off field incidents leading to suspension
- Bell will be 27 years old at the start of the 2019 season – a contract he’d be willing to accept will be paying him elite figures into his 30s at the most dangerous position in football.
- The guy is willing to shade his own team

In the case that Conner DOES come out hot and Steeler game flow is exactly the same other than the number on the back of their RB’s jersey – why not trade him and milk all the value you can get out of the guy?

If I’m the Texans, 49ers or even Colts, maybe rather than dish out $70+ for Bell, I pursue James Saxon RB Coach, and some of the Steelers RB scouts and make my own homemade Bell through the draft essentially for free. Again, Bell is a stud and no one can deny that – but maybe his environment helps him look the part a little more than general perception?

Jerick McKinnon will miss the rest of the season with a right ACL tear. McKinnon suffered the injury while making a cut on the final play of Saturday's practice. It's a tough blow for the Niners, who went all-in on McKinnon by signing him to a four-year, $30 million free agent deal this offseason.

Look for newly acquired Alfred Morris to take over the early down work to start the season. Morris had success in Shanahan’s offense while in Washington and he appears to be the only back on the roster in full health. Breida will be coming back from his shoulder injury within the next few days having been cleared to practice moments before the McKinnon injury. Brieda will probably garner close to a 50/50 split as the season gets into full swing, both backs need to be owned in fantasy.

The RB’s release means Jeremy Hill has likely won a 53-man roster spot. Gillislee had a three-touchdown Week 1 in 2017, but then did close to nothing the rest of the year spending most of the second half as a healthy scratch. Hill becomes a valuable waiver add if Burkhead (knee) and Michelle (knee) continue to play at less than 100%. We could see Hill take over the goaline role that we saw Blount excel in in 2016 on his way to a top-10 RB finish.

This is obviously a bump for Chicago’s defense, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bump for their DST in fantasy. Most likely the Bears will turn out more 3-and-out’s which will keep them off the field. What it certainly does is give a boost to RB Jordan Howard. It will give the offense more opportunity and keep scoring lower, causing the offense to grind out the clock late in games. Howard will be the main beneficiary of the grind-it-out games script.

The Bills are releasing former first-round pick WR Corey Coleman, who the acquired from the Browns. A few weeks just not enough time to grab a roster spot. He’s looking for another fresh start.

The Bills acquired Coleman during the first week of August for a seventh-round pick. He was basically unnoticeable during the preseason, catching just one ball for seven yards. Coleman is still only 24, so it's much too early to label him a bust, but he's certainly failed to live up to his first-round pedigree since being drafted by Cleveland. Being let go by Cleveland and Buffalo in the same month is the definition of hitting rock-bottom.

The Eagles offense is incredibly beat up going into the start of the season. Wentz is yet to be cleared for contact and in my opinion seems doubtful for Week 1. The Superbowl MVP Nick Foles didn't quite look the part in the Preseason game against the Browns, throwing two interceptions, losing a fumble, and getting sacked for a safety.

Alshon Jeffrey is confirmed to miss the first two games of the season, and Jay Ajayi has been out of practice the past 9 days with a lower body injury.

I have a hard time foreseeing the Eagles offense getting anything going against the Falcons top 10 defense, which leads me to believe that Matt Ryan is going to have the ball in his hands the majority of the game. I could see this being a sneaky blow out for the Falcons with the backfield being the main beneficiaries. Look for Freeman and Coleman to see a major workload in Week 1.

An encouraging showing tonight for Bengals fans, as the first team passing attack got it done against the Bills. Dalton looked hot connecting with each of his starting weapons, with a touchdown to AJ Green and an electric 57 yard score by John Ross.

Tyler Boyd, someone who d-Rx has been high on going into this year, showed great rapport with Dalton, having 4 receptions on 4 targets for 54 yards, and looks fully solidified in the slot role. He's currently going undrafted and could be someone to add to your watch list.

This looks like a new and improved Bengals offense. Dalton is currently going undrafted in 1 QB leagues, and could easily return value in favourable match-ups this season.

Adrian Peterson took part in his first practice since signing with Washington on Tuesday and head coach Jay Gruden said after the session that the veteran running back is in “fantastic physical shape.”
Gruden said that the team was able to pick that up during his Monday workout because Peterson “wasn’t even breathing heavy” when the workout came to an end. Gruden said that Peterson did a “great job” in Tuesday’s workout and described the running back that people remember from his best days with the Vikings. “Looks explosive. Big, strong and fast,” Gruden said at his press conference.
Gruden said that he would like to give Peterson some work during Friday’s game against the Broncos “if we get him up to speed” and predicted that Peterson’s experience would help him do exactly that.

I didn’t think much of this on Tuesday when I heard the news, but the door is open for Peterson to disrupt any value Perine has as a lead back in Washington. Thompson will see the passing down work and should only see a reduction in workload due to his own recovery time-table from the leg injury he suffered last season. Perine looked very good in the first preseason game after Guice went down with a season-ending injury, and looked great on his one 30-yard carry in the second game, but suffered an ankle sprain himself. After averaging only 3.45 yards per carry last season, Perine hasn’t earned himself any seniority to hold a role. In fact, before the Guice injury, Perine was thought to be on the roster bubble. This is a backfield to watch this weekend.
Thompsons current ADP is in the sixth round, which is too early for me. If you want to take a last round flyer on either Perine or Peterson they could be worth the price of a lottery ticket.

The Titans rewarded receiver Rishard Matthews with a one-year contract extension on Tuesday, and after practice coach Mike Vrabel discussed the move, and his potential return to the field.
Matthews has been on the team’s PUP list since the beginning of training camp.
“We feel good about his work, and where he’s at,” Vrabel said of Matthews. “And obviously he’s put a lot of time in to try and get himself ready for the season. So hopefully we can see him back shortly, when he’s ready.”

Matthews was the WR 19 in PPR scoring in 2016, but with Mariota recovering from injury, and an overall anemic Tennessee offense, Matthews finished 2017 as WR 37 in PPR. Matthews was being drafted in the eleventh round before camps started and is now dropping to the fifteenth round. Taywan Taylor has been active in camp and has seen a huge surge in ADP from the twentieth round to the fourteenth. I was really liking Taylor as an ultimate sleeper, but with Matthews return we will probably seethe ball being spread around the offense more. There has also been a rumor that Matthews “undisclosed” injury was actually just a hold-out, funny how he seems to be in good health after the extension.

Cooper Kupp was 4th in the NFL last year in red-zone targets. Kupp and Goff have the most chemistry of all the receivers on the team as Goff targeted him more than anyone last year. Everyone is expecting Cooks to lead these receivers in points this year, but Kupp will be the receiver to own. Sammy Watkins had eight red-zone touchdowns last year. Cooks is not a red-zone target receiver, so Kupp should see more targets and could sneak into the WR2 with massive upside.

Mckinnon has been a super divisive player this offseason. Especially after the first preseason game where he didn't amass many yards and the following day he injured himself in practice. I constantly hear people question his ability to carry the ball 200+ times or that he can’t run between the tackles, or he’s unproven in a lead role. This is all NONSENSE and you shouldn’t believe any of it. Shanahan had his pick of players that he could’ve signed instead of Mckinnon, including Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, or drafting a rookie. He chose Mckinnon cause he felt he fit his offensive system in the same way that Devante Freeman fit his scheme. The 49ers just signed Alfred Morris today as a safety net, but I’m taking all the Mckinnon I can this year. I see him carrying the ball 205car/950yds/6td while also amassing 60rec/500yds/5td making him an RB1 this year. Don't be scared, and steal him away from people that are.

Marquiae goodwin has been targeted like a number one in camp. With Pierre Garcon likely squaring off with one of the toughest schedules against number one DBs, Goodwin could break out even more than he did last year. I wouldn't put it past him to put up T.Y HIlton numbers this year. Pick him up in the 6th and 7th round and pile up the points.

In 2016 Ajayi racked up 1272 yards on 260 carries and 8 TD’s and finished as the RB11 in both standard and PPR scoring. Last year Miami ran him out of town when he struggled in an anemic offense. He was not heavily used when he got to Philly, but his touches did increase every week until the Superbowl. He was also hyper efficient gaining 5.8 yards per carry and 9.1 yards per reception. Despite the general perception Clements usage went down with Ajayi’s arrival, even with Smallwood going down with injury. The Eagles have the number 1 offensive line as graded by PFF, and 18 RB targets and 192 carries vacated. Ajayi is a safe pick in the fourth round and a steal in the fifth.

He is coming off a season that produced only 57 receptions for 520 yards, his fewest since his rookie season. With that said, Graham remains a big-time weapon in the red zone. He led the league last year with 27 targets in the region, which led to 10 touchdowns. You can bet Rodgers and play-caller Mike McCarthy will be utilizing his skills early and often when knocking on the door of the end zone.
Look for McCarthy to use a variety of personnel groupings with his new tight end group and expect to see Graham split out wide as a receiver much more than as a traditional in-line tight end.

This goes right along with what I was saying on Pyro podcast 308. I expect Graham to be used as a wide receiver and not a tight end. When Graham was negotiating his contract in his last season in New Orleans he wanted to be paid on scale with wide receivers because he rarely lined-up as an in-line tight end. When Seattle paid him, he did whatever they asked, and they asked him to block more. He was out for five games that year, but averaged one less reception per game and only scored two TD’s, after having at least nine TD’s in the previous four years. Overall Graham saw about 25% fewer targets while in Seattle compared to New Orleans and his fantasy numbers reflect it. I see Green Bay using him more like he was used in New Orleans, and even though he has obviously lost a step or two I see him as the major replacement for the Jordy Nelson targets.

Jones’ 5.55 YPC on first- and second-down carries trailed only Alvin Kamara (6.24) for best in the league last year. Jamaal Williams averaged 3.80 YPC on first- and second-down in 2017.

He’s slid two rounds since the announcement of his two game suspension, he is a screaming value if you can get him in the ninth round. We already knew he was going to be competing in a crowded backfield so missing two games really shouldn’t be a big hit to his overall production. The likelihood of either of the other two backs taking over the role is slim, Jones should be able to carve out 10 touches a game when he gets back with fresh legs. They are all high risk for injuries so I’m hoping this added rest will help Jones in the long run.

In 2017, Nelson Agholor had 62 recs, 768 yds, 9 TDs and 7 games of WR2 or better. There is no reason he wouldn't maintain this output, even with additions in the offense. Agholor had to carve out a role for himself and beat out incumbent Jordan Matthews. This year he'll be the main slot receiver and have an established role from the start.

Kirk Cousin's has the most looks of any QB through 4 games... 201 with 189 passing attempts and 12 rushing attempts. Big Ben second with 196 looks on 186 tosses and 10 rushing attempts and Andrew Luck sits 3rd with 195 looks on the season.

To give you a sense of usage, Russell Wilson only has 121 throws on the season and 11 rushes. Dak Prescott only has 115 passing attempts. These 2 guys are not being given a chance to score fantasy points for their owners.

Tom Brady is trying to become the 3rd NFL player ever to record 500 TDs, and needs 3 TDs tonight to get there. The Handsome Goat has thrown touchdown passes to an NFL record 70 different receivers over the course of his career. Are Josh Gordon or Sony Michel going to be the 71st tonight on Thursday Night Football?

Julian Edelman returns from his 4 game suspension, which is a great thing for Brady, seeing that Gronk has been banged up and Tom currently sits at QB19 on the season without his favorite target. Hogan has been a dud with Julian out racking up only 1 look last week and a laughable 15 total looks on the season.

The New England Backfield finally has some clarity for the first time in recent memory. With Rex Burkhead and Jeremy Hill on the IR, it leaves defined roles for both Sony Michel as the early down workhorse and James White as the third down back as well as in the passing game.

Sony Michel has gotten double digit carries each of his three games, with 25 attempts in week 4, while James White has gotten double digit looks each of his four starts. These two backs are every week fantasy plays until further notice, especially in PPR formats.

Both Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor showed in week 4 that they are capable of capitalizing on the opportunity given from the vacant targets of Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker. With Mariota seemingly healthy, maybe this receiving corps can live up to the offseason hype.

Taywan Taylor is worth an add, and Corey Davis now seems to be a must start in week 5 against the Bills.

This holdout has the potential to hurt Bell’s financial situation in terms of negotiation power in the market. If James Conner comes out of the gates and lights it up in Bell’s absence, maybe GMs around the league will start to raise an eyebrow in regard to Bell’s value. If he holds out until week 10, he’s going to miss out on millions, and potentially shave a few million per year off his viable asking price in free agency. I’m not trying to say that Bell isn’t elite, but here are a few tidbits towards the argument that maybe Bell isn’t worth Gurley money:

- PFF has the Steelers Offensive Line ranked #3 in the NFL
- Antonio Brown and company in the WR corps open up a ton of space for Bell in the run game and in the short dump off receptions.
- DeAngelo Williams, at the time a 32 year old who was cut from the Panthers behind Jonathan Stewart was a top 5 fantasy RB in the Steelers system during Bell’s absence.
- James Saxon – Steelers RB coach. Joined the team in 2014 (the year of Bell’s breakout season). In 2013 Bell was average at best. Granted he was a rookie, but the change was night and day between 2013 and 2014. Maybe there was more coaching influence on this improvement than people are giving credit for?
- Bell has a history of off field incidents leading to suspension
- Bell will be 27 years old at the start of the 2019 season – a contract he’d be willing to accept will be paying him elite figures into his 30s at the most dangerous position in football.
- The guy is willing to shade his own team

In the case that Conner DOES come out hot and Steeler game flow is exactly the same other than the number on the back of their RB’s jersey – why not trade him and milk all the value you can get out of the guy?

If I’m the Texans, 49ers or even Colts, maybe rather than dish out $70+ for Bell, I pursue James Saxon RB Coach, and some of the Steelers RB scouts and make my own homemade Bell through the draft essentially for free. Again, Bell is a stud and no one can deny that – but maybe his environment helps him look the part a little more than general perception?

Jerick McKinnon will miss the rest of the season with a right ACL tear. McKinnon suffered the injury while making a cut on the final play of Saturday's practice. It's a tough blow for the Niners, who went all-in on McKinnon by signing him to a four-year, $30 million free agent deal this offseason.

Look for newly acquired Alfred Morris to take over the early down work to start the season. Morris had success in Shanahan’s offense while in Washington and he appears to be the only back on the roster in full health. Breida will be coming back from his shoulder injury within the next few days having been cleared to practice moments before the McKinnon injury. Brieda will probably garner close to a 50/50 split as the season gets into full swing, both backs need to be owned in fantasy.

The RB’s release means Jeremy Hill has likely won a 53-man roster spot. Gillislee had a three-touchdown Week 1 in 2017, but then did close to nothing the rest of the year spending most of the second half as a healthy scratch. Hill becomes a valuable waiver add if Burkhead (knee) and Michelle (knee) continue to play at less than 100%. We could see Hill take over the goaline role that we saw Blount excel in in 2016 on his way to a top-10 RB finish.

This is obviously a bump for Chicago’s defense, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bump for their DST in fantasy. Most likely the Bears will turn out more 3-and-out’s which will keep them off the field. What it certainly does is give a boost to RB Jordan Howard. It will give the offense more opportunity and keep scoring lower, causing the offense to grind out the clock late in games. Howard will be the main beneficiary of the grind-it-out games script.

The Bills are releasing former first-round pick WR Corey Coleman, who the acquired from the Browns. A few weeks just not enough time to grab a roster spot. He’s looking for another fresh start.

The Bills acquired Coleman during the first week of August for a seventh-round pick. He was basically unnoticeable during the preseason, catching just one ball for seven yards. Coleman is still only 24, so it's much too early to label him a bust, but he's certainly failed to live up to his first-round pedigree since being drafted by Cleveland. Being let go by Cleveland and Buffalo in the same month is the definition of hitting rock-bottom.

The Eagles offense is incredibly beat up going into the start of the season. Wentz is yet to be cleared for contact and in my opinion seems doubtful for Week 1. The Superbowl MVP Nick Foles didn't quite look the part in the Preseason game against the Browns, throwing two interceptions, losing a fumble, and getting sacked for a safety.

Alshon Jeffrey is confirmed to miss the first two games of the season, and Jay Ajayi has been out of practice the past 9 days with a lower body injury.

I have a hard time foreseeing the Eagles offense getting anything going against the Falcons top 10 defense, which leads me to believe that Matt Ryan is going to have the ball in his hands the majority of the game. I could see this being a sneaky blow out for the Falcons with the backfield being the main beneficiaries. Look for Freeman and Coleman to see a major workload in Week 1.

An encouraging showing tonight for Bengals fans, as the first team passing attack got it done against the Bills. Dalton looked hot connecting with each of his starting weapons, with a touchdown to AJ Green and an electric 57 yard score by John Ross.

Tyler Boyd, someone who d-Rx has been high on going into this year, showed great rapport with Dalton, having 4 receptions on 4 targets for 54 yards, and looks fully solidified in the slot role. He's currently going undrafted and could be someone to add to your watch list.

This looks like a new and improved Bengals offense. Dalton is currently going undrafted in 1 QB leagues, and could easily return value in favourable match-ups this season.

Adrian Peterson took part in his first practice since signing with Washington on Tuesday and head coach Jay Gruden said after the session that the veteran running back is in “fantastic physical shape.”
Gruden said that the team was able to pick that up during his Monday workout because Peterson “wasn’t even breathing heavy” when the workout came to an end. Gruden said that Peterson did a “great job” in Tuesday’s workout and described the running back that people remember from his best days with the Vikings. “Looks explosive. Big, strong and fast,” Gruden said at his press conference.
Gruden said that he would like to give Peterson some work during Friday’s game against the Broncos “if we get him up to speed” and predicted that Peterson’s experience would help him do exactly that.

I didn’t think much of this on Tuesday when I heard the news, but the door is open for Peterson to disrupt any value Perine has as a lead back in Washington. Thompson will see the passing down work and should only see a reduction in workload due to his own recovery time-table from the leg injury he suffered last season. Perine looked very good in the first preseason game after Guice went down with a season-ending injury, and looked great on his one 30-yard carry in the second game, but suffered an ankle sprain himself. After averaging only 3.45 yards per carry last season, Perine hasn’t earned himself any seniority to hold a role. In fact, before the Guice injury, Perine was thought to be on the roster bubble. This is a backfield to watch this weekend.
Thompsons current ADP is in the sixth round, which is too early for me. If you want to take a last round flyer on either Perine or Peterson they could be worth the price of a lottery ticket.

The Titans rewarded receiver Rishard Matthews with a one-year contract extension on Tuesday, and after practice coach Mike Vrabel discussed the move, and his potential return to the field.
Matthews has been on the team’s PUP list since the beginning of training camp.
“We feel good about his work, and where he’s at,” Vrabel said of Matthews. “And obviously he’s put a lot of time in to try and get himself ready for the season. So hopefully we can see him back shortly, when he’s ready.”

Matthews was the WR 19 in PPR scoring in 2016, but with Mariota recovering from injury, and an overall anemic Tennessee offense, Matthews finished 2017 as WR 37 in PPR. Matthews was being drafted in the eleventh round before camps started and is now dropping to the fifteenth round. Taywan Taylor has been active in camp and has seen a huge surge in ADP from the twentieth round to the fourteenth. I was really liking Taylor as an ultimate sleeper, but with Matthews return we will probably seethe ball being spread around the offense more. There has also been a rumor that Matthews “undisclosed” injury was actually just a hold-out, funny how he seems to be in good health after the extension.

Cooper Kupp was 4th in the NFL last year in red-zone targets. Kupp and Goff have the most chemistry of all the receivers on the team as Goff targeted him more than anyone last year. Everyone is expecting Cooks to lead these receivers in points this year, but Kupp will be the receiver to own. Sammy Watkins had eight red-zone touchdowns last year. Cooks is not a red-zone target receiver, so Kupp should see more targets and could sneak into the WR2 with massive upside.

Mckinnon has been a super divisive player this offseason. Especially after the first preseason game where he didn't amass many yards and the following day he injured himself in practice. I constantly hear people question his ability to carry the ball 200+ times or that he can’t run between the tackles, or he’s unproven in a lead role. This is all NONSENSE and you shouldn’t believe any of it. Shanahan had his pick of players that he could’ve signed instead of Mckinnon, including Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, or drafting a rookie. He chose Mckinnon cause he felt he fit his offensive system in the same way that Devante Freeman fit his scheme. The 49ers just signed Alfred Morris today as a safety net, but I’m taking all the Mckinnon I can this year. I see him carrying the ball 205car/950yds/6td while also amassing 60rec/500yds/5td making him an RB1 this year. Don't be scared, and steal him away from people that are.

Marquiae goodwin has been targeted like a number one in camp. With Pierre Garcon likely squaring off with one of the toughest schedules against number one DBs, Goodwin could break out even more than he did last year. I wouldn't put it past him to put up T.Y HIlton numbers this year. Pick him up in the 6th and 7th round and pile up the points.

In 2016 Ajayi racked up 1272 yards on 260 carries and 8 TD’s and finished as the RB11 in both standard and PPR scoring. Last year Miami ran him out of town when he struggled in an anemic offense. He was not heavily used when he got to Philly, but his touches did increase every week until the Superbowl. He was also hyper efficient gaining 5.8 yards per carry and 9.1 yards per reception. Despite the general perception Clements usage went down with Ajayi’s arrival, even with Smallwood going down with injury. The Eagles have the number 1 offensive line as graded by PFF, and 18 RB targets and 192 carries vacated. Ajayi is a safe pick in the fourth round and a steal in the fifth.

He is coming off a season that produced only 57 receptions for 520 yards, his fewest since his rookie season. With that said, Graham remains a big-time weapon in the red zone. He led the league last year with 27 targets in the region, which led to 10 touchdowns. You can bet Rodgers and play-caller Mike McCarthy will be utilizing his skills early and often when knocking on the door of the end zone.
Look for McCarthy to use a variety of personnel groupings with his new tight end group and expect to see Graham split out wide as a receiver much more than as a traditional in-line tight end.

This goes right along with what I was saying on Pyro podcast 308. I expect Graham to be used as a wide receiver and not a tight end. When Graham was negotiating his contract in his last season in New Orleans he wanted to be paid on scale with wide receivers because he rarely lined-up as an in-line tight end. When Seattle paid him, he did whatever they asked, and they asked him to block more. He was out for five games that year, but averaged one less reception per game and only scored two TD’s, after having at least nine TD’s in the previous four years. Overall Graham saw about 25% fewer targets while in Seattle compared to New Orleans and his fantasy numbers reflect it. I see Green Bay using him more like he was used in New Orleans, and even though he has obviously lost a step or two I see him as the major replacement for the Jordy Nelson targets.

Jones’ 5.55 YPC on first- and second-down carries trailed only Alvin Kamara (6.24) for best in the league last year. Jamaal Williams averaged 3.80 YPC on first- and second-down in 2017.

He’s slid two rounds since the announcement of his two game suspension, he is a screaming value if you can get him in the ninth round. We already knew he was going to be competing in a crowded backfield so missing two games really shouldn’t be a big hit to his overall production. The likelihood of either of the other two backs taking over the role is slim, Jones should be able to carve out 10 touches a game when he gets back with fresh legs. They are all high risk for injuries so I’m hoping this added rest will help Jones in the long run.

In 2017, Nelson Agholor had 62 recs, 768 yds, 9 TDs and 7 games of WR2 or better. There is no reason he wouldn't maintain this output, even with additions in the offense. Agholor had to carve out a role for himself and beat out incumbent Jordan Matthews. This year he'll be the main slot receiver and have an established role from the start.

Kirk Cousin's has the most looks of any QB through 4 games... 201 with 189 passing attempts and 12 rushing attempts. Big Ben second with 196 looks on 186 tosses and 10 rushing attempts and Andrew Luck sits 3rd with 195 looks on the season.

To give you a sense of usage, Russell Wilson only has 121 throws on the season and 11 rushes. Dak Prescott only has 115 passing attempts. These 2 guys are not being given a chance to score fantasy points for their owners.

Tom Brady is trying to become the 3rd NFL player ever to record 500 TDs, and needs 3 TDs tonight to get there. The Handsome Goat has thrown touchdown passes to an NFL record 70 different receivers over the course of his career. Are Josh Gordon or Sony Michel going to be the 71st tonight on Thursday Night Football?

Julian Edelman returns from his 4 game suspension, which is a great thing for Brady, seeing that Gronk has been banged up and Tom currently sits at QB19 on the season without his favorite target. Hogan has been a dud with Julian out racking up only 1 look last week and a laughable 15 total looks on the season.

The New England Backfield finally has some clarity for the first time in recent memory. With Rex Burkhead and Jeremy Hill on the IR, it leaves defined roles for both Sony Michel as the early down workhorse and James White as the third down back as well as in the passing game.

Sony Michel has gotten double digit carries each of his three games, with 25 attempts in week 4, while James White has gotten double digit looks each of his four starts. These two backs are every week fantasy plays until further notice, especially in PPR formats.

Both Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor showed in week 4 that they are capable of capitalizing on the opportunity given from the vacant targets of Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker. With Mariota seemingly healthy, maybe this receiving corps can live up to the offseason hype.

Taywan Taylor is worth an add, and Corey Davis now seems to be a must start in week 5 against the Bills.

This holdout has the potential to hurt Bell’s financial situation in terms of negotiation power in the market. If James Conner comes out of the gates and lights it up in Bell’s absence, maybe GMs around the league will start to raise an eyebrow in regard to Bell’s value. If he holds out until week 10, he’s going to miss out on millions, and potentially shave a few million per year off his viable asking price in free agency. I’m not trying to say that Bell isn’t elite, but here are a few tidbits towards the argument that maybe Bell isn’t worth Gurley money:

- PFF has the Steelers Offensive Line ranked #3 in the NFL
- Antonio Brown and company in the WR corps open up a ton of space for Bell in the run game and in the short dump off receptions.
- DeAngelo Williams, at the time a 32 year old who was cut from the Panthers behind Jonathan Stewart was a top 5 fantasy RB in the Steelers system during Bell’s absence.
- James Saxon – Steelers RB coach. Joined the team in 2014 (the year of Bell’s breakout season). In 2013 Bell was average at best. Granted he was a rookie, but the change was night and day between 2013 and 2014. Maybe there was more coaching influence on this improvement than people are giving credit for?
- Bell has a history of off field incidents leading to suspension
- Bell will be 27 years old at the start of the 2019 season – a contract he’d be willing to accept will be paying him elite figures into his 30s at the most dangerous position in football.
- The guy is willing to shade his own team

In the case that Conner DOES come out hot and Steeler game flow is exactly the same other than the number on the back of their RB’s jersey – why not trade him and milk all the value you can get out of the guy?

If I’m the Texans, 49ers or even Colts, maybe rather than dish out $70+ for Bell, I pursue James Saxon RB Coach, and some of the Steelers RB scouts and make my own homemade Bell through the draft essentially for free. Again, Bell is a stud and no one can deny that – but maybe his environment helps him look the part a little more than general perception?

Jerick McKinnon will miss the rest of the season with a right ACL tear. McKinnon suffered the injury while making a cut on the final play of Saturday's practice. It's a tough blow for the Niners, who went all-in on McKinnon by signing him to a four-year, $30 million free agent deal this offseason.

Look for newly acquired Alfred Morris to take over the early down work to start the season. Morris had success in Shanahan’s offense while in Washington and he appears to be the only back on the roster in full health. Breida will be coming back from his shoulder injury within the next few days having been cleared to practice moments before the McKinnon injury. Brieda will probably garner close to a 50/50 split as the season gets into full swing, both backs need to be owned in fantasy.

The RB’s release means Jeremy Hill has likely won a 53-man roster spot. Gillislee had a three-touchdown Week 1 in 2017, but then did close to nothing the rest of the year spending most of the second half as a healthy scratch. Hill becomes a valuable waiver add if Burkhead (knee) and Michelle (knee) continue to play at less than 100%. We could see Hill take over the goaline role that we saw Blount excel in in 2016 on his way to a top-10 RB finish.

This is obviously a bump for Chicago’s defense, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bump for their DST in fantasy. Most likely the Bears will turn out more 3-and-out’s which will keep them off the field. What it certainly does is give a boost to RB Jordan Howard. It will give the offense more opportunity and keep scoring lower, causing the offense to grind out the clock late in games. Howard will be the main beneficiary of the grind-it-out games script.

The Bills are releasing former first-round pick WR Corey Coleman, who the acquired from the Browns. A few weeks just not enough time to grab a roster spot. He’s looking for another fresh start.

The Bills acquired Coleman during the first week of August for a seventh-round pick. He was basically unnoticeable during the preseason, catching just one ball for seven yards. Coleman is still only 24, so it's much too early to label him a bust, but he's certainly failed to live up to his first-round pedigree since being drafted by Cleveland. Being let go by Cleveland and Buffalo in the same month is the definition of hitting rock-bottom.

The Eagles offense is incredibly beat up going into the start of the season. Wentz is yet to be cleared for contact and in my opinion seems doubtful for Week 1. The Superbowl MVP Nick Foles didn't quite look the part in the Preseason game against the Browns, throwing two interceptions, losing a fumble, and getting sacked for a safety.

Alshon Jeffrey is confirmed to miss the first two games of the season, and Jay Ajayi has been out of practice the past 9 days with a lower body injury.

I have a hard time foreseeing the Eagles offense getting anything going against the Falcons top 10 defense, which leads me to believe that Matt Ryan is going to have the ball in his hands the majority of the game. I could see this being a sneaky blow out for the Falcons with the backfield being the main beneficiaries. Look for Freeman and Coleman to see a major workload in Week 1.

An encouraging showing tonight for Bengals fans, as the first team passing attack got it done against the Bills. Dalton looked hot connecting with each of his starting weapons, with a touchdown to AJ Green and an electric 57 yard score by John Ross.

Tyler Boyd, someone who d-Rx has been high on going into this year, showed great rapport with Dalton, having 4 receptions on 4 targets for 54 yards, and looks fully solidified in the slot role. He's currently going undrafted and could be someone to add to your watch list.

This looks like a new and improved Bengals offense. Dalton is currently going undrafted in 1 QB leagues, and could easily return value in favourable match-ups this season.

Adrian Peterson took part in his first practice since signing with Washington on Tuesday and head coach Jay Gruden said after the session that the veteran running back is in “fantastic physical shape.”
Gruden said that the team was able to pick that up during his Monday workout because Peterson “wasn’t even breathing heavy” when the workout came to an end. Gruden said that Peterson did a “great job” in Tuesday’s workout and described the running back that people remember from his best days with the Vikings. “Looks explosive. Big, strong and fast,” Gruden said at his press conference.
Gruden said that he would like to give Peterson some work during Friday’s game against the Broncos “if we get him up to speed” and predicted that Peterson’s experience would help him do exactly that.

I didn’t think much of this on Tuesday when I heard the news, but the door is open for Peterson to disrupt any value Perine has as a lead back in Washington. Thompson will see the passing down work and should only see a reduction in workload due to his own recovery time-table from the leg injury he suffered last season. Perine looked very good in the first preseason game after Guice went down with a season-ending injury, and looked great on his one 30-yard carry in the second game, but suffered an ankle sprain himself. After averaging only 3.45 yards per carry last season, Perine hasn’t earned himself any seniority to hold a role. In fact, before the Guice injury, Perine was thought to be on the roster bubble. This is a backfield to watch this weekend.
Thompsons current ADP is in the sixth round, which is too early for me. If you want to take a last round flyer on either Perine or Peterson they could be worth the price of a lottery ticket.

The Titans rewarded receiver Rishard Matthews with a one-year contract extension on Tuesday, and after practice coach Mike Vrabel discussed the move, and his potential return to the field.
Matthews has been on the team’s PUP list since the beginning of training camp.
“We feel good about his work, and where he’s at,” Vrabel said of Matthews. “And obviously he’s put a lot of time in to try and get himself ready for the season. So hopefully we can see him back shortly, when he’s ready.”

Matthews was the WR 19 in PPR scoring in 2016, but with Mariota recovering from injury, and an overall anemic Tennessee offense, Matthews finished 2017 as WR 37 in PPR. Matthews was being drafted in the eleventh round before camps started and is now dropping to the fifteenth round. Taywan Taylor has been active in camp and has seen a huge surge in ADP from the twentieth round to the fourteenth. I was really liking Taylor as an ultimate sleeper, but with Matthews return we will probably seethe ball being spread around the offense more. There has also been a rumor that Matthews “undisclosed” injury was actually just a hold-out, funny how he seems to be in good health after the extension.

Cooper Kupp was 4th in the NFL last year in red-zone targets. Kupp and Goff have the most chemistry of all the receivers on the team as Goff targeted him more than anyone last year. Everyone is expecting Cooks to lead these receivers in points this year, but Kupp will be the receiver to own. Sammy Watkins had eight red-zone touchdowns last year. Cooks is not a red-zone target receiver, so Kupp should see more targets and could sneak into the WR2 with massive upside.

Mckinnon has been a super divisive player this offseason. Especially after the first preseason game where he didn't amass many yards and the following day he injured himself in practice. I constantly hear people question his ability to carry the ball 200+ times or that he can’t run between the tackles, or he’s unproven in a lead role. This is all NONSENSE and you shouldn’t believe any of it. Shanahan had his pick of players that he could’ve signed instead of Mckinnon, including Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, or drafting a rookie. He chose Mckinnon cause he felt he fit his offensive system in the same way that Devante Freeman fit his scheme. The 49ers just signed Alfred Morris today as a safety net, but I’m taking all the Mckinnon I can this year. I see him carrying the ball 205car/950yds/6td while also amassing 60rec/500yds/5td making him an RB1 this year. Don't be scared, and steal him away from people that are.

Marquiae goodwin has been targeted like a number one in camp. With Pierre Garcon likely squaring off with one of the toughest schedules against number one DBs, Goodwin could break out even more than he did last year. I wouldn't put it past him to put up T.Y HIlton numbers this year. Pick him up in the 6th and 7th round and pile up the points.

In 2016 Ajayi racked up 1272 yards on 260 carries and 8 TD’s and finished as the RB11 in both standard and PPR scoring. Last year Miami ran him out of town when he struggled in an anemic offense. He was not heavily used when he got to Philly, but his touches did increase every week until the Superbowl. He was also hyper efficient gaining 5.8 yards per carry and 9.1 yards per reception. Despite the general perception Clements usage went down with Ajayi’s arrival, even with Smallwood going down with injury. The Eagles have the number 1 offensive line as graded by PFF, and 18 RB targets and 192 carries vacated. Ajayi is a safe pick in the fourth round and a steal in the fifth.

He is coming off a season that produced only 57 receptions for 520 yards, his fewest since his rookie season. With that said, Graham remains a big-time weapon in the red zone. He led the league last year with 27 targets in the region, which led to 10 touchdowns. You can bet Rodgers and play-caller Mike McCarthy will be utilizing his skills early and often when knocking on the door of the end zone.
Look for McCarthy to use a variety of personnel groupings with his new tight end group and expect to see Graham split out wide as a receiver much more than as a traditional in-line tight end.

This goes right along with what I was saying on Pyro podcast 308. I expect Graham to be used as a wide receiver and not a tight end. When Graham was negotiating his contract in his last season in New Orleans he wanted to be paid on scale with wide receivers because he rarely lined-up as an in-line tight end. When Seattle paid him, he did whatever they asked, and they asked him to block more. He was out for five games that year, but averaged one less reception per game and only scored two TD’s, after having at least nine TD’s in the previous four years. Overall Graham saw about 25% fewer targets while in Seattle compared to New Orleans and his fantasy numbers reflect it. I see Green Bay using him more like he was used in New Orleans, and even though he has obviously lost a step or two I see him as the major replacement for the Jordy Nelson targets.

Jones’ 5.55 YPC on first- and second-down carries trailed only Alvin Kamara (6.24) for best in the league last year. Jamaal Williams averaged 3.80 YPC on first- and second-down in 2017.

He’s slid two rounds since the announcement of his two game suspension, he is a screaming value if you can get him in the ninth round. We already knew he was going to be competing in a crowded backfield so missing two games really shouldn’t be a big hit to his overall production. The likelihood of either of the other two backs taking over the role is slim, Jones should be able to carve out 10 touches a game when he gets back with fresh legs. They are all high risk for injuries so I’m hoping this added rest will help Jones in the long run.

In 2017, Nelson Agholor had 62 recs, 768 yds, 9 TDs and 7 games of WR2 or better. There is no reason he wouldn't maintain this output, even with additions in the offense. Agholor had to carve out a role for himself and beat out incumbent Jordan Matthews. This year he'll be the main slot receiver and have an established role from the start.